SPOKANE, Wash. – Imagine going about your day, then getting home and opening your phone to a notification that you’re being tracked.
That is exactly what happened to a Spokane teenager during Hoopfest.
The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is asking the tech company Tile for information based on a serial number found on the device. The case is now being investigated as cyberstalking.
Court documents show the girl drove home from Hoopfest and received a notification saying an unknown device had been detected. The notification opened in Apple Maps, showing she was at her home.
She then drove to Dutch Bros. Her phone then showed her route from her house to the coffee shop and back.
According to court records, she told her parents, who then searched her car and found the Tile tracking device attached underneath and out of sight.
Tile’s website has a section addressing unwanted tracking like this. When the Tile is in range of another Tile app user’s phone, it uses a Bluetooth connection to detect that.
Doing this not only violates their terms of service but is also a crime.
The deputy investigating the case says the fact this technology is being used to target minors is even more alarming.
Tile does have a tool to determine if an unknown device is tracking you or someone you love. You will need to download the Tile app, where there will be a scan and secure feature. You’ll have to move or drive a certain distance away from your original location for about 10 minutes.
From there, the app will detect any tile devices nearby.
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